


Potions and Snitches

by Yatorihell



Series: In The Darkness [63]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, ノラガミ | Noragami (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:13:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27866673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yatorihell/pseuds/Yatorihell
Summary: Yato begins to seek answers, and the first Quidditch match of the year begins.
Series: In The Darkness [63]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/547369
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Potions and Snitches

Yato opened his mind as wide as he dared before he fell asleep, and though it took what felt like hours, he was asleep within minutes.

_Yato found himself in Grimmauld Place. It looked just the way he remembered when he first came to visit; threadbare carpets, dark oaken banisters, and wallpaper that was torn and rough under his fingertips._

_He walked down the hallway, listening for any signs of life, but none came. The living room was deserted with a cold fireplace that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years, the dining room equally as dishevelled by books and spiderwebs that heaped up over the years. It seemed like no one was home._

_Yato turned into the small library at the back of the house after peering down the kitchen stairs. He scanned the shelves once again and familiar books stared back at him. Faded photographs in silver frames showed obscure faces and several ornate boxes of tarnished silver etched with a foreign language dotted between them._

_His gaze lifted to the three silver goblets on the upper shelves. His hand picked them up one by one. The gold signet ring tumbled into his hand from one, and from another, he plucked out the glossy black pendant._

_Yato wrapped its chain around his fingers and let it dangle, feeling a tingle of déjà vu run down his spine as he did so. A similar throbbing returned to his head as he held the ring in his closed fist, the pendant hanging from his fingers. He fumbled for the similar groove, bidding it to open this time through the building pressure in his head._

As the locket clicked open, Yato startled awake.

  
~

Yukine was furious.

 _He_ was the one who could brew death in a bottle. _He_ was the one who could follow instructions to the letter. And now, _Yato_ , of all people, was making potions like an apothecary.

Yukine felt his chest fill with frustration. His hair, normally kept neat, had plastered itself to his forehead with sweat and been pushed back a million times since the beginning of class. For whatever reason, Yato had suddenly improved his potions within the last month, and Yukine was losing his mind.

Even more so today, as Madame Kofuku had announced a light-hearted competition. The task: brew a perfect draught of living death, a notoriously difficult potion. The prize: a vial of Felix Felicis, otherwise known as liquid luck.

“ _What_ are you doing?” Yukine eyed Yato’s hands as he deftly crushed the squill bulb against his cutting board, the flat of the knife twinkling at him mockingly.

Yato shot Yukine a smirk. “Crush it instead.”

“No, you _cut_ it,” Yukine’s words cut the air as thinly as his own plant, yet Yato grinned and swept his ingredients into his cauldron.

Hiyori, equally as annoyed but still level-headed, gently turned the page of her potions book. “Let's just try to get through this without killing him. Yato needs the practice for his N.E.W.T.s.”

Yato pouted and continued teasing Yukine, unafraid of tickling the metaphorical sleeping dragon. “You sure you don’t want that _Potions for Dummies_ book back?”

Yukine swore under his breath and looked away. Yato took the chance to slide his own book away slightly, revealing Madame’s Kofuku’s annotated copy that had hundreds of amendments to brewing perfect potions.

The discoveries that she had made over her years in Hogwarts had helped him greatly, along with knowledge of new spells jotted in the margins that Yato had never heard of, lest seen in another book. _Sectumsempra_ – a lacerating spell – seemed like a particularly vicious curse that they wouldn’t teach students anyway.

Hiyori smiled as Yukine threw desperate looks to see what Yato was doing, quickly trying to match his potion as Madame Kofuku called an end to the class. They stepped back as Madame Kofuku walked around the room, small tweezers and flower petals in hand, dropping them into each student’s potion and giving condolences that they hadn’t _quite_ got it right.

Madame Kofuku reached their table and dropped a petal in each of their potions. Hiyori’s wilted slightly at the edges, confirming that her potion was not perfect. Yukine’s wilted even more but an air bubble rose and popped with a foul odour that made him cough and look utterly defeated. Yukine and Hiyori watched as the final petal fluttered into Yato’s potion – which was molten gold in colour with droplets splashing like goldfish above its surface – and shrivelled entirely like a flower in the snow.

“We have a winner!” Madame Kofuku announced, though Yato knew that she was trying to look as fair and innocently surprised by Yato’s success despite giving him the answers herself.

Yukine glared daggers at Yato as he was presented the coveted prize of liquid luck, followed by a smattering of applause from jipped sixth-year students who lost to a seventh-year who shouldn’t have been in their class.

The bell rang out right on time as Yato stared into the crystalline vial, inspecting the honey-coloured liquid and already coming up with ways to use it. _The upcoming Quidditch match?_ He was rusty, but Hiyori would kill him for cheating. _His N.E.W.T.s?_ That sounded like a good idea; he wanted to at least pass, and this could be the key.

Yato approached Yukine and Hiyori with a lazy smile, which wasn’t returned by Yukine as he huffed and threw his cauldron into the sink along with Hiyori’s. He glanced at his own cauldron, decided that Madame Kofuku may want to keep the extra potion, and left it on the table.

“You _need_ to tell us how you got so good,” Yukine whined. His tie, hanging around his neck like a stripy snake, swung as he scooped up his bag.

“Like I said, the book has all the answers.” It was true, although Yato didn’t specify which book he was talking about as he dropped the vial into his robe pocket and shouldered his bag.

Yukine grumbled as he too shouldered his bag. “Hiyori, do me a favour and knock him off his broom.”

Hiyori laughed but had no doubt that he meant it. The game was on Saturday; Gryffindor vs Slytherin; she could easily hit him with the quaffle.

Hiyori flashed Yato a smile as she turned towards the door and flicked her hair in a way she’d seen Bishamon do a thousand times. “Consider it done.”

~

The first Quidditch match of the season was on a blustery November weekend, laced with the first winter snowfall that hid the lines of the Quidditch pitch.

Yato’s thoughts hummed as he pulled on his gear and grasped his broom. _Gryffindor versus Slytherin,_ Yato thought _._ He followed his team onto the pitch alongside Gryffindor, spotting the back of Bishamon's and Hiyori’s head as he passed.

 _Yato versus Bishamon once again_.

The roaring crowds that filled the stands faded to a dull thundering in Yato’s ears. The match was set, and the players flew into the air as the bludgers, quaffle, and the snitch were released into the game with a sharp pitched whistle.

Yato soared upwards and hovered above the pitch, staying out of the way. The falling snow caked his cloak and hair in fine white crystals and stung his cheeks as the breeze pushed against him. His eyes sought out the familiar twinkle of gold among silver snowflakes, though his googles fogged with the heat of his body against the cold.

Below, the players zipped through the air, scarlet and emerald robes streaming out behind them as they expertly swerved and dodged bludgers and passed the quaffle between them, only to be blocked by both Keepers when anyone tried to score. Over the roar of the crowd, Yato felt his heart thunder against his ribs at the tell-tale glint of gold against the white backdrop.

Yato broke into a hasty chase through the flurry of snow, nose-diving towards the earth in a bid to seal his team’s victory and end the onslaught Gryffindor brought with every score. A flicker of a green cloak, too high up to be anyone else, to his left alerted him that Bishamon had also spotted the snitch and was giving chase.

Rearing his broom, Yato soared upright and dug his heels into the stirrups, nosediving and twisting to every opportunity the snitch presented to no avail. It was a game of cat and mouse – one he _knew_ he could win if he could just… get… closer.

Yato’s outstretched fingers burned with the effort, within inches of the snitches fluttering wings beating against the tips of his gloves…

A gloved fist snatched the snitch from under his nose.

Slack-jawed, Yato caught the sweet smile Bishamon flashed him as she twisted down beside him. She turned to the side and spiralled to the ground in a swirl of gold and scarlet, a victory cry rising from her chest that was immediately drowned out by the crowd.

Yato stared down at Bishamon, unable to scowl as he was too surprised to comprehend what she just did.

She had snatched victory right out of his hand.

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all gunna hate me the next few chapters :3


End file.
